Thursday, 19 September 2013

Top public servants get huge pay rise.

Money is short, wages are static, pensions and benefits are being reduced in real terms for prices are rising, buying a first home is simply a dream, Home-care workers and young workers along with students are really struggling. Even low charging community health services are on the verge of closing or chopping services. But hey…that’s life in modern day New Zealand. This is neo-liberal economics in action and the PM says we should be proud of this.

Surely this can’t be correct, CEO’s salaries are zooming toward the heavens, banks are making huge profits, farming is booming for some and Fonterra is making massive profits, the top rate of tax has been reduced and government has given away billions to private companies. Our Ministers travel the world to watch boat races or visit the Queen for a weekend holiday. Some of our top public servants are paid millions for not performing the latest example is the fumbling, muddling CEO of

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Tony Marryatt gets huge payout.

Christchurch City Councils Tony Marryatt who received hundreds of thousands in fact close to a half a million for basically but not officially being sacked. Hospital Board CEO’s are also inline for massive increases while services are being cut. Of course the flow on effect means that others in the management area will also receive proportional increases.

The latest round of automatic salary increases has been announced for top public service figures. Also a few of the pay outs to sacked or replaced heads of departments. The government has at the same time been hiring its friends to fill top slots within the Public Service commissions, people like MP Jackie Blue etc. But hey this is New Zealand crony capitalism it’s the in thing: This from Fairfax Media.

Heads of some of the major government departments pocketed inflation-busting pay increases this year, while the state sector also saw a string of substantial severance payments.

The State Services Commission quietly added its review of senior public servant staff to its website this week, breaking the tradition of releasing it with its annual report.

While the commission said the pay increases were lower than the private sector and in line with changes in recent years, several high-profile bosses got increases of more than 10 per cent.

During the period - the year to June 30 - inflation was less than 1 per cent.

Wayne McNee, who quit as director general of the Ministry for Primary Industries in July, had a pay packet jump of about $50,000 in the year to June 30 to about $510,000.

During that year the super ministry was criticised for its preparedness for a foot and mouth outbreak and was blamed by the minister, Nathan Guy, for its handling of a block on New Zealand meat products into China.

Sean Hughes, chief executive of the Financial Markets Authority, saw his pay packet surge by $50,000 to $500,000, at a time when the financial regulator was being criticised for its failure to uncover Ross Asset Management, a massive Ponzi scheme.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority chief executive Roger Sutton had a pay rise of about $50,000 to about $560,000, while State Services Commissioner Hugh Rennie's salary went up $40,000.

Most of the chief executives covered in the survey, which includes the bosses of district health boards, universities and polytechnics, moved up, although a few had falls.

Adrian Orr, chief executive of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, saw his pay packet - likely to be linked to the performance of the fund - drop by $70,000.

The figures also reveal a number of severance payments, with former ACC chief executive Ralph Stewart walking away from the agency with $171,567 after quitting in the wake of the Bronwyn Pullar affair.

Other agencies had major payouts associated with the formation of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The figures show the Department of Building and Housing, then headed by Katrina Bach, paid out more than $183,000, while the Ministry of Science and Innovation's severance cost was almost $250,000.